You're late
by Whovian overload River Song
Summary: From a Tumblr prompt of River and Twelve's first conversation after their first meeting, we get a Library fix it.


River Song/Twelve ~ first conversation they have after their first meeting/adventure

[A/N: Okay, so the first thing that popped into my head was the Library. If you've seen the minisodes First night/Last night, you know that Eleven took River to Darillium and I'm sure you've seen the Name of the Doctor so you know that there was an official goodbye (though I still hope she comes back for season 8). So if Twelve comes in, it's either to an earlier version of River or he saved her from the Library. I'm going with he saved her because I love River too much not to write fix-it's to the Library. Enjoy I hope.]

"I've made too many mistakes. It's about time that I did something about that." He was talking about a lot of things when he'd said that. Mostly about people he'd let down and lied to. That list could go on for decades if he let it. And right near the top of that list would be River Song. Is wife. Not an ex. He sometimes just told himself that so he wouldn't feel so guilty leaving her there. It had been close to 500 years since Darillium, but he still remembers every part of that wonderfully sad night before she left.

He was usually able to distract himself. Clara. Clara was a good distraction. All impossible and puzzly. He loved a puzzle. But then the puzzle was solved and thoughts of River filled his head again. Trenzalore was when he missed her the most. The second time. Three hundred years protecting a little town called Christmas. No Clara. No distraction. He had tried to write it down once or twice about her but ended up getting too emotional. He hated missing her more than he hated losing her. It made his gut hurt to miss and it lasted so much longer.

He wanted a familiar face there when he died. Clara was familiar, but she wasn't family like the Pond's were. Like River was. That was his last thought before he changed: Christmas at the Ponds house. The first time he'd seen them since the wedding. Happy tears and water pistols. River was there. She was always there at Christmas. There were quite a few mistletoes, probably River's idea, though he didn't mind.

And then he couldn't remember. The green one was there and the not green one. It was all a bit of a blur that he could almost remember full of dinosaurs and newspapers and robots in a restaurant until he was the Doctor. The Doctor with a new face and he was fighting off robots side by side with Clara like he had done so many times before and all he could think about was how many of his dates with River had ended like this.

He thought thought that his new face would be like a fresh start for him, but it only made him feel more guilty. That's when he knew he had to do something. Anything to save her. Save her for real. He found himself back at the Library. His new face cringed at the memory of River's death. He had no idea how much time had passed since his younger face had been here, but it must've been at least a few centuries since the Vashta Nerada had died off. Or possibly been killed off by chemicals the Lux Corporation had put in here. Either way, it was safe for him to download her.

The computer would supply a human body for those who were downloaded, but River was not human. A human mind wouldn't be able to hold a Time Lord consciousness even if she was only part Time Lord. He would have to provide DNA for the computer to make her the body she needed, inevitably making her a full Time Lord. He cut his hand, trying not to wince, and gave Cal the blood. He closed his eyes and waited. If this didn't work he would never forgive himself. He slowly exhaled, listening to the silence of the room until he heard a cough. He couldn't keep his eyes closed any longer. They flew open and there was River. Right where she had been when she last had a physical form, wearing black like all the other's were when they had been downloaded. She was slumped over, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow and uneven. It took a few moment for him to get his feet to move, but when they did he ran over to her side and cupped her face. "River…" He willed her to look at him, but she remained unresponsive to his touch.

She was still getting use to this new body. Her mind still settling in to her new brain, her lungs getting the hang of breathing, and her hearts remembering how to beat. He scooped up her limp form in his arms and made his way back to the TARDIS. He wanted to put her in their bed until she woke up but the TARDIS had hidden their bedroom and kept making him walk into to the sickbay. It had been forever since he had called it _their_ bedroom. He hardly ever slept in it since she was gone, usually falling asleep in odd places like his work bench or in the console room. He sighed, knowing the TARDIS was right. She always was.

That's how he spent the next two days: at River's side waiting for her to open her eyes. He made sure to give her fluids, but when he wasn't making sure her body was still functioning, he was holding her hand and watching her. He tried talking to her after 48 hours of looking at her face gain more color. She didn't respond respond. It was like talking to a picture and his hearts sank in fear that she would never wake up. The TARDIS hummed to try and comfort him. He squeezed River's hand and looked down at his feet, fighting the lump in his throat. Until she squeezed it back.

His eyes darted up towards hers. They were still closed. She took a deep and steady breath like one would do when waking up and stretched her new shoulders and new toes. Finally her eyes opened. He had missed those eyes more than he ever thought he would. She jumped at the very first sight of him, not recognizing the man who stood over her. She searched his face before calming as she met his eyes. She would know those eyes anywhere. "You've changed." Her voice was hoarse which surprised her a bit.

"Not very long ago." He told her, his voice shaky and reached a hand to touch her cheek. River, his River was here for real this time and would never let her go again.

"You're late." She didn't have enough energy to sound very cross.

"I know." He cleared his throat. "Sorry abou' that."

She looked at him, amused by the Scottish accent. "The eyebrows are a little daring." She pointed out. "As is the accent."

He smiled weakly. "It's always a lottery." He finally sat down on the edge of the bed, taking both of her hands in his.

"I thought… I didn't think you were going to come back." She looked away from him, her tone more serious.

"River. If there's one thing you should know, it's tha' I'll always come back for you and I will never say goodbye to you ever again."

She looked at him, finally seeing the pain of losing her in his eyes. She could feel it, too, the way his hearts ached just to hold her again. She grabbed his collar and pulled his lips down to hers, kissing his fiercely. "You'd better not."


End file.
